eastmeg2

Hi Kev, With a machine like that (10.5m2 or 13.0 m2 wing?) you're going to need at least 400m for safe ops in the long run. Mudjeep has just bought into the Tarago area between Goulburn & Canberra. There's plenty of land for sale at the moment in that area. Another area is just north of Braidwood which is even closer to the coast and Moruya airport is right on the coast and just a short hop from Braidwood, if you have an ASIC card. We have flown our 2 stroke Airborne trikes from Tarago to Moruya and back a few times before the ASIC requirement came along. Now we have the XT-912 I'm back to struggling with whether or not to get the damn ASIC card and to be honest my memory (I'm not 40 yet) is not good enough for how far back the questions go - 10 years. Cheers, Glen

Getting back to the topic of flying in controlled airspace, as a trike pilot it's pretty difficult to think that I could enter CTA to the letter of the law and trikes, being the flying pendulums that they are don't take too kindly to being flown low over mountainous terrain when any wind is blowing. So, my point is, what can be done to ensure that we can all enjoy a nice flight all the way up the east coast of our beautiful country without having to make dangerous excursions inland or out to sea. I cannot justify the expense of a transponder in a trike and have not ever seen any hint of transponders for hire for that once in 10 blue moons when one might be useful in a trike. (Apart from endorsement requirements) Sydney's Victa-1 VFR coastal route is a good example for the other major airports up the coast to follow where there is class-G airspace that as far as I know Ultralight & Trike pilots can fly through with ATC radio clearance and with no transponder, but what about places like Coffs Harbour, Gold Coast and Maroochydore. There could be some local arrangements for "No Transponder" ATC clearances but they would not stand up under legal scrutiny under the current rules. Cheers, Glen

Measured the pitch angle on all 3 prop blades yesterday, although with the wing on the trike we could not get the trike onto a proper flat surface. This introduces a constant error which is unknown, but highly repeatable. What we were able to determine is that the pitch on the 3 blades is the same to within 0.1 degrees, and that the actual pitch angle is approximately the recommended 20 degrees.

It's weightshift controlled - YAY !!!

Just from watching "Air Crash Investigation" on the pay tv, have seen an instance when a twin engine passenger jet had already lost one engine and let down to 6000ft 40Nm from the airport as per normal procedure and what happened when the other engine failed was most predictable. They didn't make it did they. Had they maintained altitude until they were within glide of the airport their chances would have been far better.

Have managed to get in a couple of hours flying yesterday afternoon. The 912 is now revving to 5400rpm in a climb and performing noticeably better than before. Thanks to Airborne for doing the right thing. It's still likely that I will be trying to achieve the correct propellor pitch as it looks like one or more blades may still be pitched a bit coarser than they should be, but won't know for sure until I can implement an accurate method of measuring the pitch on each blade, following instructions provided by Bolly at Natfly. Cheers, Glen

The same reason people go somewhere cold so they can put on a thick jacket.

Not as bad as was initially thought then. If it's what I've heard, the trike manufacturer had just issued a notice a few days earlier advising owners to replace the restraining cable for that bar with a shorter version that prevents it from being able to reach the battery.

Hi Jason, I didn't want to influence you one way or the other, now that you've made your decision, welcome to the area. I'll PM you for more details. Cheers, Glen

Hi Jeff, We met briefly at Natfly last month. The optional flight to Rylstone during the Megafauna will be on Thurs 24th May, weather permitting.

Airborne have now installed the correct ratio 2.43 in my gearbox and it nows revs to 5400rpm in a static engine test on the ground. Hopefully this will translate to optimum peak engine revs in flight of 5500-5800rpm. Weather is looking promising for this weekend, so I hope I'll have some good experiences to report next week.

I did my Trike license training at Rylstone and believe it or not have not been back there since completing my training and endorsements 5 years ago this month. It does look very likely that I'll have the chance to fly my trike there again in a few weeks when the Megafauna goes to Mudgee with an optional lay-day versus fly to Rylstone day. I'll take the second option for old times sake. Rgds, Glen

I do have a couple of pre-requisites for that safe feeling though - thorough pre-flight check and the snug feeling of the seat belt around my waist. The seat belt is all that more important when flying in an open cockpit, since it's the only thing that stops you making an unexpected exit when some nasty turbulence rears its ugly head. Cheers, Glen

I recall reading an article several years back of a trike with a BMW bike engine converted for Aero use. That article included a story of an engine outage due to the battery going flat, so I assume these engines cannot run when the battery goes flat or gets disconnected unlike what I've seen on Rotax 582's where the ignition circuit is independant of battery power. Has this all been rectified since then?

Just ask any Trike pilot, or I suppose Drifter pilot or similar would do too. It is a buzz flying in the open air at anything up to about 60kts, if you want to go much quicker, just look at the size of the windscreens fitted to faster trikes like Pegasus GT450 and Quik. After market touring screens are also popular on XTS-912's in the cooler climates/months. And taking a look over the side is one of the things I enjoy about triking - you can really see the gap between you and the ground rather than just believing what your altimeter tells you. Cheers, Glen

Hi All, I've heard that Paul Haines hangar at Albion Park (Wollongong airport) burned down yesterday morning with numerous trikes and a few very slick ultralights all going up in smoke. Anyone got more news ???

I've just heard today from a friend who is collecting their XTS-912 from Airborne today that aparrently Bert Floods has installed the wrong gearbox ratio on a batch of 912 engines they sent to Airborne. Both our trikes were built at the same time, being completed on Friday 13th, of all days. . . I think we'll be having some words with Airborne on Thursday morning to see what they're going to do to fix it. NOT IMPRESSED !!! Glen

Thanks John, I take it that you did not experience the same thing when you took delivery of your XT. I've been operating at less than full power anyway, especially early in the takeoff roll since we have a grass/dirt strip and no stone gaurd net yet, although the GRS chute does help provide some protection. Hence it was only when I was established in cruise 3500ft AMSL and specifically tested climb performance that I noticed the engine would not rev above 4900rpm. Our airfield is 2500ft AMSL. Cheers, Glen

I've noticed there are a few of you out there with XTS-912's. I collected mine from Airborne last week and flew it for the first time this weekend. (Not the first time I've flown one). Airborne claimed they set the propellor pitch so that the 912 can rev to 5500rpm in flight. However I find that mine will only rev to 4900rpm. Could it be that the engine is new and tight and will free up with time? I suspect the prop pitch is set too coarse and will bring this query up with Airborne this week, and would appreciate any feedback from you more experienced XTS-912 owners & pilots out there. It still cruises 56 knots (GPS) burning only 9 litres/hr 2 up. - amazing after 6 years flying Edge X Streaks at 48knots at 15 litres/hr. And yes, we had definitely removed the airfilter covers. Cheers, Glen

Try these guys in WA. http://www.microlight.com.au/hangar.htm Rgds, Glen

I spotted the April edition of the RAAus mag in the news stand today and had a quick flick through. Mine has not arrived in the mail yet. It had a report on a fatal accident at the Oaks last year, but still nothing on the fatality involving a top of the line 4 stroke RAAus registered trike fitted with a BRS chute in Jan06. That accident was one I found very disturbing and we're still waiting on a report 15 months later. Rgds, Glen

Hi Simon, Well I know plenty of flexwing flyers in Victoria who I'm sure will be pleased to have you drop in at their airfield. Depending on your short field confidence with the Quik I may invite you to drop in at our property near Goulburn NSW during your trip between Melbourne and Sydney. 400m grass cross strips may be pushing it a bit with a Quik. Cheers, Glen

Hi, Am due to collect my XTS-912 next week and will be doing a few circuits or more to learn the differences compared to the Edge X Streaks I've been flying so far. From the check flight I did in an XTS-912 in December it seems that shallower powered approaches may be better suited due to the extra speed involved and I suspect I may need to get back into some low altitude training to fully appreciate the handling differences, climb angles and turning radius compared to the Edge X, just to make sure that I'll know what to expect if I have to do a go-around, and not get caught out by not getting the exact response I'm used to. Rgds, Glen

When we made our strip we understood the restrictions to be that so long as you are not building anything and don't cut down trees more than 600mm trunk diameter at 4ft AGL, then you're not breaking any rules. Also hangars less than 100m2 don't require approval in rural areas. A tramac runway would be considered building something, but a grass/dirt runway is merely a smoothing of the ground. Cheers, Glen

Hi Simon, I'd suggest using a MiniDV tape camera. Because there's less risk of vibration upsetting your recording as could occur with DVD and Hard Drive cameras. Also they're dirt cheap in comparison and still give reasonably good quality video. It will just take longer to transfer the video to your PC than with DVD or HD camera. I use a Sony HC30. Which parts of Australia do you plan to visit with your Quik? Cheers, Glen